Videos

James Rodriguez welcomed the Bundesliga back from its winter break with a sublime piece of accuracy, an exquisite free kick to cap off Bayern Munich’s 3-1 victory over Bayer Leverkusen on Friday. With the Munich holding a one-goal lead heading into stoppage time, the reigning German champions got a little bit of wiggle room thanks to the James Rodriguez free kick goal. 

A thing of beauty from James Rodriguez!  https://t.co/BB0LH6bjvT

Lionel Messi is currently leading La Liga in scoring, and a big reason for that is the dynamic between him and Barcelona left back Jordi Alba. Of Alba's eight assists so far this season, seven have been scored by Messi. 

Not that Messi doesn't sometimes return the favor, having assisted Jordi Alba twice.

When these two get rolling, Barcelona simply cannot be stopped, as Celta Vigo found out Thursday in the Copa del Rey, a match that featured two Jordi Alba assists to Messi and one Messi assist to Jordi Alba.

Real Betis defeated its city rival Sevilla 5-3 in La Liga on Saturday at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, a fantastic victory for the mid-table club over a team fighting for a Champions League place. When Real Betis players returned from the crosstown trip, they were greeted by hundreds of fans packing the streets to welcome home their heroes after triumph in the Seville Derby. 

The scenes were a beautiful reminder of the link between club and fan. The two groups were in total sync with their celebrations. 

We made it through the blitz of games over the past month folks. Now you have a fresh wildcard to use if you'd like or you can keep rolling with your squad. Oh the decisions. Here are some Lads you can pick up this week:

Ayoze Perez (Newcastle):

Newcastle host Swansea, the Premier League’s worst team, on Saturday. Ayoze Perez is Newcastle’s in-form attacker with three goals in his last two games. At only £5.2, he’s easily the biggest sleeper among FPL Gameweek 23 attackers.

Jesse Lingard (Manchester United):